Rui Pinto, the founder of Football Leaks, faces the imminent loss of his witness protection status, sparking fears for his life. Pinto was responsible for leaking confidential documents, including financial records and emails, that eventually triggered a major Premier League investigation into Manchester City.
The hacker provided these materials to the German publication Der Spiegel in 2018, exposing alleged financial fair play violations. These disclosures recently led to a ruling where City were found guilty of all charges concerning financial regulation breaches spanning the 2009-10 to 2017-18 seasons. Manchester City has since launched an appeal against the verdict. In 2018, he shared documents with German magazine Der Spiegel, which used them for investigations into City’s finances and alleged breaches of financial fair play rules.
